Of course, it is winter time and everyone is looking for different ways to protect their hair from the cold! I have a lot of friends who tell me that their hair gets super crazy dry during the winter months. They are always trying to find new products to put on their hair because the winter air makes their hair dry and brittle. Somehow, I have never experienced this extreme dryness this time of the year. My hair tends to be pretty much the same all year around, but I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. But either way, just because I don't face a certain amount of problems during a certain amount of time, that doesn't mean I don't still face those same problems throughout the year! Whether it's winter or not, we all still face dry hair, itchy scalp, and frizziness throughout the year! So here are a few tips to help you through those frustrating hair times!
Tip #1: If your hair is suuuuper dry and lacking softness, try making a DIY deep conditioner using mayonnaise and extra virgin olive oil (EVOO). You could leave it at that, or you could add some other ingredients for added nutrients and benefits such as avocado, pumpkin, eggs, yogurt, or banana. I find that after I cleanse my hair with deep conditioners containing mayonnaise and EVOO, my hair is beyond soft, full of body, hydrated, and moisturized after I rinse it out! It's beyond amazing and it lasts!
Tip #2: If you love beanies but can't stand the frizziness that they cause your hair, try either sewing a silk lining to the inside of your beanie, or you could wear a silk bonnet (yes, the sleepwear that many women, unfortunately, wear out in public) under your beanie. That way you don't have to buy a bunch or material or silk bonnets and sew them into different hats! This will help your hair to stay smooth instead of rubbing up against the cotton material of your beanie or even your toboggan!
Tip #3: For those of you who feel like you can't rock your wash-and-go in the winter time because you don't want to walk outside with a wet head of hair, think again! :) Try preparing your wash-and-go on a day when you know you won't leave the house! That way you can style it on wet hair the day before, let it air dry, and then wear it out as your style the next day! This way, you get the fullness of day 2 curls on their first day out! Or if you prefer to not have to be tied down in the house all day, try letting your hair get about 50% air dried before you apply your wash-and-go product! That way, you won't have to style and walk out of the house with soaking wet hair AND your hair will have more volume! Be aware that there may be a bit less definition in the curls. But me, personally, would choose fullness over definition any day!
Tip #4: Hydrate your hair much more often. If dry hair is an issue for you, try spritzing your hair with a bit of water daily and following with a small amount of a light moisturizing lotion or creme. Or you could do as I did when I did my big chop and put a little bit (maybe about 3 quarter-sized amounts) of your favorite leave-in in a spray bottle, fill the rest of the bottle with water, shake it up, and spray that on your hair daily! I may actually start doing this again because my hair was very well moisturized when I would do this daily!
Tip #5: Try to wear styles that keep your hair off of your neck and back. Since during this time of year, we are all wearing scarves, and wool coats, it is easier for our hair to frizz up because of all the friction. Especially our poor ends! They get it the worst :( So if you know you are going to pull out the cotton or wool coat and scarf, consider wearing your hair in an updo, braids of any kind, or twists that day! This isn't necessary to do every single day, but every once in a while, give your hair a break from the friction. Maybe for at least half of each month total, try keeping your ends off of your neck and back. You'll be happy you did! And be sure to keep your hands out of your hair if you have on gloves or mittens that aren't leather! :)
So now we are going to shift gears a little bit and I'll explain to y'all how I maintain my straight hair. Like i mentioned before, I had my undergraduate graduation last month and I decided that I wanted to get my hair flat ironed for it. I got my hair done the Sunday before graduation (December 14th) by an amazing cosmetologist named, Kendra. She came highly recommended by one of my best friends, Adrianna. Kendra trimmed and flat ironed my hair and I loved it! My hair was shiny, it had SO much body and it looked incredibly healthy! I kept my hair up and maintained it by not applying any unnecessary heat, but I found within the next couple of days that my hair was getting very dry, as it usually does. It was losing a lot of its luster and it wasn't looking as healthy. I didn't know what to put on it to give it its glow back because all of the hair product I had was for hair in its natural state. I had nothing that wouldn't make my hair revert back to its curls. So then I went on Pinterest and searched "natural heat protectant." A few things came up, but the one thing that popped out to me was grapeseed oil. I just stared experimenting with grapeseed oil in August and what I notice most about it is that it's extremely light. If you follow my blog regularly you know that is a winning characteristic of a product for me. I LOVE a product that sits lightly on hair because it doesn't cause any weigh down. I love for my hair to move and have body rather than stick to my head. Especially when it's flat ironed! So I took the grapeseed oil tip and ran with it!
My best friend, Teleza, took my senior pictures for me the day before graduation (December 17th). So the night before we took them, I poured about a quarter-sized amount of grapeseed oil into my hand, rubbed it between both hands, and applied it to half of my hair from root to tip. After I applied and rubbed it in thoroughly, I did the same thing to the other half of my hair. I then combed my hair with a paddle brush and put my hair into a top knot (wrapped my hair into a knot bun on the top of my head). I put on my silk bonnet and then went to sleep. When I woke up the next morning and took my hair down...y'all. My hair was right back to how it was before! It was full of life, SUPER shiny, and had SO much volume!!! It wasn't weighed down at all! I could not believe how much that grapeseed oil did for my hair, literally, overnight! I was so excited! I then got my flat iron and put some curls in! I had it on low heat, of course. I was in absolute and total LOVE with the results I got from using the grapeseed oil! That night, my hair looked and felt fine, but I wanted to add a little more oil, so I did! I then put my top knot back in and my silk bonnet. The next morning, graduation morning (December 18), my hair was just as it was the day before! And not only that, but the top know preserved my curls! So I barely had to add any curls in that morning...but I did anyway because I wanted to hahaha!! :) My curls lasted all day long! From that night on, I didn't add anymore grapeseed oil to my hair, nor did I use anymore heat. My nighttime hair routine consisted of only 2 steps: top knot and silk bonnet! Doing just that alone, i preserved my curls and my hair was still so hydrated, so I didn't have to add anymore oil or curl my hair until CHRISTmas, which was exactly a week later.
From now on, I definitely will be using grapeseed oil on my hair when I do any kind of heat styling! It was soooo good to my hair and I love the results I got! And in case it wasn't obvious, no, I didn't acquire ANY heat damage!! My hair reverted right back to its curls when I washed it! So long story short, a great way to protect and maintain your straight hair is to add grapeseed oil before you go to bed, put your hair in a top knot, and sleep with your silk bonnet on or on your satin pillowcase.
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I hope y'all found this post super helpful and that you gained something from these tips! If you have anymore questions, feel free to ask by commenting below! I'll see y'all on the next post! And as always, thank you for your support!